Newsletter

Town hall attendees: Division tearing city apart

Speakers call for unity from mayor, City Council

Roger Moss, director of the Savannah Children's Choir, expresses his disappointment in the divisiveness of the city council surrounding the search for a new city manager following Mayor Otis Johnson's State of the City presentation at the Johnny Mercer Theater. Interested residents were given the opportunity to express their concerns to the mayor and council. Many made comments about the current search for a new city manager. (John Carrington/Savannah Morning News)

Former city alderman Judi Ross questions Savannah Mayor Otis Johnson about comments he made recently which she felt were divisive. Ross was among many city residents who took the opportunity to express their concerns to the mayor and council following the mayor's Sate of the City presentation at the Johnny Mercer Theater. (John Carrington/Savannah Morning News)

Savannah Mayor Otis Johnson presents the State of the City speech at the Johnny Mercer Theater. (John Carrington/Savannah Morning News)

Savannah Mayor Otis Johnson, center, is flanked by council members and staff as he presents the State of the City speech at the Johnny Mercer Theater. (John Carrington/Savannah Morning News)

City of Savannah Sanitation Dept. employee Dale Arkwright expressed his concern over recent layoffs following Mayor Otis Johnson's State of the City presentation at Johnny Mercer Theater. (John Carrington/Savannah Morning News)

School teacher Elizabeth Lietzau Kluetsch admonishes the mayor and council for setting a bad example to her students through their divisiveness surrounding the search for a new city manager. (John Carrington/Savannah Morning News)

Some came in praise of the mayor and Savannah City Council, and some came to blame them for a city manager search that has divided a community and failed to provide the best candidates.

But as speaker after speaker stood before the council at Wednesday night's quarterly town hall meeting, almost all called on their elected officials to find a way to bring the city together.

From a crowd of more than 300, 46 speakers addressed Mayor Otis Johnson and council at the Johnny Mercer Theatre. Most wanted to talk about the city manager search that produced two finalists, Acting City Manager Rochelle Small-Toney and Albany City Manager Alfred Lott.

They were culled from more than 80 initial candidates, but simmering concerns about the quality of the process went public at the Jan. 26 meeting when the four white members of council, after the sole white candidate was eliminated, as a group questioned the full council's commitment to finding the best finalist regardless of race. For more background information and headlines from previous city manager-related stories, visit savannahnow.com/citymanager.

The Rev. Matthew Southall Brown Sr., pastor emeritus of St. John Baptist Church, set the tone by telling council this is the first time he can recall racial division being this bad in Savannah. He worries it threatens to tear the city apart.

Roger Moss, co-founder and artistic director of the Savannah Children's Choir, shared much the same concern.

"We are so much better than what we've seen in the last two weeks," Moss said. "Just because you are disagreeing doesn't make the other person a racist. Drop that word."

For others, race had to be mentioned. For several black speakers, it mattered because it was a measure of how far they had come and how far they had yet to go in being considered equal.

Count Greg Hagins among them. A one-time candidate for City Council, he called on the mayor and council to come together and agree on what so many in the community want.

"Give us the opportunity to have the first black city manager," he said. "We want that. We'll work with you, but you work with us."

Pamela Cherry was among the first to thank the council for its service, and asked them not to "revisit the sins of the past" in its hiring decision, "much like our police chief when we had the right person for the job all along," she said.

Referring to Small-Toney, she said "we have the right candidate right here."

Other speakers brought up race and suggested the city's current environment is still excluding people based on color.

Judi Ross, a former Savannah alderwoman, directed her comments only to the mayor and referenced a January speech he gave at St. Paul CME Church for a Martin Luther King Jr. ceremony. She wanted him to explain what he meant by "the rightful members of council" and why he frequently made statements about "us" and "them."

"Weren't you elected by all the voters in Savannah and not just by one race or color?" she said.

The mayor did not respond, as was previously agreed upon and announced.

Another speaker, Antoinette Dunham, defended the mayor's speech.

"He wasn't saying it to be racist," she said. "It's not about being black or white, it's about being proud of what you've achieved."

Racism became evident on the City Council only after the white candidate, Pat DiGiovanni, was eliminated, Marilyn Jackson said.

"When their boy DiGiovanni was not selected as a finalist, these people turned enemy to the black community," she said.

Michael Gaster, a former state Senate candidate, asked the council to create an ordinance that would prohibit elected officials and city employees from belonging to "race specific organizations," an idea that drew laughter from some and a smattering of applause from others. It was an indirect reference to the National Forum of Black Public Administrators, to which several council members and city employees belong.

The organization also caused concern for Larry Wilkes because the mayor, Alderman Van Johnson and Small-Toney belong.

"Is this not a conflict of interest," he asked. "Ray Charles could see that."

Wilkes finished his remarks asking for the same unity other speakers sought.

"We need solidarity," he said. "And we need a 9-0 vote that says 'City manager we're behind you and we support you."

Pamela Oglesby praised the council for its efforts to make the city manager search open and accessible to the public. She participated in community interviews to help set criteria for identifying skills the new city manager should have.

But in the end, she, too, was one of several speakers who questioned the quality of the search.

"I don't think those were all the best candidates," she said. "I just can't believe that."